Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 02, 2020 (SKNIS): Fourteen individuals have been awarded scholarships to study abroad in the Republic of China (Taiwan).
At the award ceremony held on September 30, 2020, Minister of Education, the Honourable Jonel Powell, congratulated the awardees.
“I think this is an amazing opportunity for you and it is certainly something that you should be commended on,” he said to the awardees.
Minister Powell thanked the Government of Taiwan for its continued assistance and commitment to the Government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“In particular, I am happy for the commitment to increase the number of opportunities that our local students can take advantage of going forward,” he said.
The minister said that his ministry offers its continued support and will work along with the embassy to ensure that there are more applications and more persons qualifying to take advantage of the opportunities.
Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris was also at the event to show his support. In his remarks, the Prime Minister said that while reflecting on the value of education, “education should at least assist in bringing some stability in our lives.”
“Stability in terms of our own thoughts about what we can become, what we want to become and what we should become,” he said. “Education is about how we are going to make the adjustment to the new norms of life, not just COVID but education must be about the present and the future and it has always been and will always be about that.”
The Prime Minister noted that Taiwan has been an excellent friend but it has not been a lopsided relationship.
“St. Kitts and Nevis of all of Taiwan’s allies particularly in the Caribbean, has been the most reliable and the most steadfast in terms of its diplomacy and its support for Taiwan.”